Two women in the Ural Mountains city of Perm threw Molotov cocktails at the local office of the ruling United Russia party, igniting a blaze inside the building, Russian media reported Thursday.Emergency services told local media that the fire engulfed some 40 square meters (430 square feet) of the office, and photos taken from inside the building showed charred furniture and office equipment.According to the Telegram news channel Baza, which has connections to Russian security services, two women threw several Molotov cocktails at the United Russia office late Wednesday and then fled the scene.Eyewitnesses said that one of the arsonists clothes briefly caught fire during the attack.
Police found and arrested the two women on Thursday morning.Vyacheslav Grigoryev, first deputy secretary of United Russias regional branch, told local media that the arsonists may have sought revenge after the party earlier organized humanitarian aid shipments to occupied Ukraine.According to civil rights NGO Avtozak LIVE, more than 500 people in Russia have been accused or convicted of arson and attempted arson attacks on military enlistment offices, government buildings and infrastructure since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.